West Coast Trail photos

Hello,

Some photos of my September hike of the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. 75km over 6 days of mud, ladders, cable cars, wildlife, good company, beaches, two lighthouses and fine cuisine restaurants... or as they say, blisters and bliss! The trail is nicknamed "Wet Coast Trail" but I didn't get any rain. Later, I biked the Sunshine Coast and it rained almost every day. The trail was easier than I thought but it can be slow going at times when trying to find a way around mud holes. I'd do it again over a couple of weeks. There were places where I could've camped 2 nights or more.

I had an E-M5 with 14-150 and an E-PM2 with 9-18, as well as a Panny 100-300 in the bag. I carried both cameras around my neck and a tripod in my hand (doubling as hiking stick) for the whole trip, something I'd never do with a SLR.

The whole set is here: West Coast Trail.

The southern end of the trail is mostly in the forest. The tall trees, large ferns and fog made for an eerie atmosphere:

Owen Point, passable at low tide only.

One of the many mud holes. There's usually a way around them. I can see how constant rain would make things miserable.

One of the many ladders. The longest (not this one) has around 200 steps. I loved them. I prefer going straight up on a relatively solid structure than grinding my way over roots and mud.

There were whales all along the coast. This was shot from my seat at "Chez Monique", a burger joint on the beach. There's also food (crab, salmon or halibut) at the Nitinat Narrows ferry crossing. Both places are very expensive but well worth it. Bring lots of cash.

Seagulls often gather at the mouth of fresh water creeks. I saw otters walking in front of me, bears, eagles, seals, sea lions, a falcon, lots of shorebirds, giant slugs. Most animals don't seem to care about hikers at all. The main reason I'd like to spend more time is to photograph wildlife.

Beach at twilight. I like to adjust the WB for fluorescent at twilight.

Buoys indicate beach accesses, water sources and campsites. Designated campsites have bear boxes and compost toilet but one can camp anywhere on the trail except on Native land. There's one place with "luxury tents" (prospector tent with stove). I don't know how much they cost or how to reserve for them though.

One of the 5 cable cars. I only took two since the water was low enough to rock-hop two of them and waded across another to continue walking on the sandstone shelf.

This was part of a bike tour, so here's a shot of your truly, riding on the hard-packed sand of Long beach. Unfortunately, the next evening, I was taking pics with the E-PM2 and left the E-M5 behind on the tripod and it toppled over and the viewfinder window cracked (still perfectly usable). At least the E-PM2 didn't fall in the water when a wave a good 20 feet behind the the camera. This is a very shallow beach so tiny waves go very far but very gently as the tide goes up.

All photos of both biking and hiking trip are here: Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.

Thanks for watching!